Da Franco: Bringing Quality Pizza To Queens

Astoria is known for many things. It’s Greek food. The Bohemian beer garden. Kaufman Studios. But one thing that doesn’t come to mind when you hear the name of one of Queen’s most popular neighborhoods is pizza. It’s not surprising though, as there are few people of Italian heritage who live there. In fact, Astoria was first settled by the Dutch and Germans in the 17th century and around 50 years ago a large number of ethnic Greeks from Greece, Albania and Cyprus made the area their home, giving Astoria the largest Greek population outside of Greece itself. So if you’re looking for some spanakopita, melitzanosalata, kolokythoanthoi, or tzatziki you’ve come to the right place. But for pizza… not so much.

I was invited to a tasting at Da Franco (1919 24th Avenue) last week — a modest Italian restaurant that opened last May just north of the Triborough Bridge (RFK Bridge). The one thing that Da Franco suffers from is it’s poor location. About a 15 minute walk from the closest subway stop, it isn’t easily accessible unless you’re willing to navigate the Queens bus system. But locals have a delicious new restaurant that serves up what is arguably the best pizza in the area. If I lived across the street, I’d eat there all the time. Unfortunately, with comparable places surrounding me in the East Village, it’s not the kind of destination eating establishment that makes places Di Fara, Lucali, and Totonno’s popular among folks from other boroughs.

On a Thursday evening, we were practically the only people there, although I’m told it gets crowded on the weekends. The restaurant is attached to a new apartment complex and is beautifully decorated. Every tabletop features a map of Italy and it’s not so far fetched to close your eyes and you can imagine that you’re sitting in the middle of Rome.

The menu is expansive and takes time to navigate. Luckily we were just sticking to pizza and dessert. There were 21 pies on the menu which is a lot for any restaurant and especially a place that serves so many other dishes. Perhaps narrowing the list down to the ten pies they do best would benefit diners. I tried four 1/2 pies and each were delicious.

The last two pies were my favorites. The cheeses in the QUATTRO FORMAGGI melt in your mouth and the sauteed mushrooms were juicy and delicious.

We also tried two desserts: a cheesecake and tiramasu that was large enough for a family of four (seriously… check out this monster!).

If the food at Da Franco was being served in a cute, hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant in the East Village there would be lines out the door and local food blogs would be raving about the place. But to garner accolades outside Manhattan and Brooklyn is difficult unless you’re doing something revolutionary or your restaurant somehow develops some kind of underground cult following.

The reality is that Da Franco is a wonderful neighborhood restaurant. The owner — Franco — is there every night with a friendly smile and greets every diner, many who appeared to know him. Franco has been running restaurants in New York for decades and knows the recipe for success. Hopefully as more people in the area discover this newcomer, the place will thrive in it’s “off the beaten path” location.

About I Dream Of Pizza

Some guys dream about winning the Powerball jackpot, making love to Kate Upton, or scoring the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl. But personally, I spend most of my time dreaming about digging my face into a mouth watering slice of pizza. Fireworks are ignited. Music comes out of nowhere. And just like that, I’ve fallen in love once again. Since 2008, I've chronicled my pizza eating adventures in New York City and around the world on I Dream Of Pizza -- the web's most popular blog dedicated entirely to pizza.

52 comments

That is the fitting weblog for anybody who desires to search out out about this topic. You notice a lot its nearly laborious to argue with you (not that I really would needHaHa). You positively put a brand new spin on a subject thats been written about for years. Nice stuff, simply nice!

Great post. I was checking continuously this blog and I am impressed! Extremely helpful information specifically the last part I care for such information a lot. I was looking for this certain information for a very long time. Thank you and best of luck.

Thanks for sharing superb informations. Your website is very cool. I’m impressed by the details that you’ve on this blog. It reveals how nicely you understand this subject. Bookmarked this web page, will come back for extra articles. You, my friend, ROCK! I found simply the info I already searched everywhere and simply couldn’t come across. What a perfect web site.

I not to mention my buddies appeared to be viewing the best guidelines on the blog then quickly came up with an awful feeling I had not expressed respect to the web site owner for those techniques. These women are actually certainly very interested to read all of them and now have definitely been enjoying these things. Appreciation for actually being very accommodating and for picking out certain brilliant themes millions of individuals are really needing to be informed on. My very own sincere regret for not saying thanks to sooner.

We simply wish to inform you that I am novice to posting and incredibly liked your article. Very possible I am going to store your webpage post . You seriously have magnificent article text. Appreciate it for expressing with us your internet site post.

Hey! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any
trouble with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked
and I ended up losing a few months of hard work due to no
back up. Do you have any methods to protect against hackers?

Bila anda ngak menjumpai fitur-fitur tersebut di atas, lalu anda sebaiknya
waspada terhadap situs tersebut dan web tersebut bukanlah agen bola terbaik yang pantas
dipilih. music scene, the band made the decision to move to LA.
If Facebook is a country today, its membership would have been the 3rd largest country today
behind China and India, America is 4th.

This is negated in individual cover where separate premium should be the exact amount of inshrance coverage
you can afford for this insurance? These are abc all important.
This is not to say they can provide you with a fixed annuity, variable annuities have accumulation and annuitization periods.
So in the next few years. In truth nothing could be further from the truth.

With regards to repayment of loan amount, mortgage lender automatically deducts amount borrowed with interest rate from your looking at bank account
on your payday As a result of small amounts of dollars loaned as well
as suit being based on State guidelines, the issue seems to be have
evaded Federal Review Having so many hits on your own credit report will lower
your credit score which may help you get out of the jogging for one of those loans It is actually attractive to business people
who rental their buildings as well; it may cover leasehold improvements Actually Rate stands for twelve-monthly percentage of fee,
nominal Rate, and effective Rate that explains the annualized
interest instead of bill every month or charge
that was provided on mortgage, mortgage loan, bank
card, and more People from most segments may possibly easily make
applications relating to absolutely no credit assessment installment lending products for
low credit score without any hassle In case your job compensates the bills however
you dread likely to work daily for whatever reason, you happen to be in the completely wrong profession Some people see it
as a great way to succeed in life The Navy Slang request can be
particularly useful for anyone who is just visiting the
navy, or is experiencing someone while in the military and
desires to be able to discover the core
lingo I have a tough time experiencing sorry on her loss The verification, approval as
well as procedure of getting these loans tend to be almost prompt
and provide swift cash assist If you find yourself taking these types of financial loans regularly, it might be time to search for financial
information from an authority Nevertheless, floating interest
rates comes with diverse interest rate depending on the macroeconomic policies on the RBI Your current payday lender should make use of
certain rules when providing you with a loan that assist safeguard your financial
situation I just now recently acquired a Follow loan this holiday season to cover
education costs costs in addition to Chase came highly recommended with me from my own school On the other
hand, for instance, you might be unfortunate sufficient to lose a person’s laptop while on a trip then click off your
car mirror and the following few days your fridge fails to function properly However, the credit requirements pertaining to
federal As well as parent lending products and
for fed Grad Additionally student loans are much less strict than the consumer
credit requirements regarding non-federal private education loans 3) There is always a maximum quantity that
the supplier can bring about Negative aspects: – Federal housing administration mortgages mortgage loan officer
upstream dassurance more dune regular monthly premium ( blank ) Contractors are paid following each period of work is carried out, usually 3-5 slices,
in order that they must have his or her money to get
the work came from most cases — subscription usually takes longer
because of the need for co-ordination between the
dune home buyers, contractors, the particular Consultant and also the task of renovation financial
loan – Even more evaluation plus consulting expenses HUD should be davance paid Irrespective of why you require extra money because there are
several options there can be by visiting services of lenders These are usually free just so long while you
don’t request your credit report more often than once a year

Simply wish to say your article is as astounding. The clearness in your post is
simply nice and i can assume you are an expert on this subject.
Fine with your permission let me to grab your RSS feed to keep up to date with forthcoming
post. Thanks a million and please keep up the rewarding work.

The sketch is attractive, your authored material stylish.
nonetheless, you command get got an edginess over that you wish be delivering
the following. unwell unquestionably come further formerly again since exactly the same nearly very often inside case you shield this increase.

I loved as much as you’ll receive carried out right here.
The sketch is tasteful, your authored subject matter stylish.

nonetheless, you command get got an edginess over
that you wish be delivering the following. unwell unquestionably come more
formerly again as exactly the same nearly a lot often inside case
you shield this increase.

Hollywood movies release date, size, Hollywood movies cast, country, genres,
subtitles watch online from my site. Only a small percentage of films ever
make over a billion dollars. The Marine Midland Bank,
which was part of the HSBC banking group, had purchased the naming rights.

Hmm it seems like your blog ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I
guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your
blog. I as well am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new
to everything. Do you have any helpful hints for inexperienced blog
writers? I’d really appreciate it.

Just want to say your article is as amazing.
The clearness on your publish is simply great and i could assume you are knowledgeable on this subject.
Fine along with your permission let me to take hold of your RSS feed to keep up to date with coming
near near post. Thanks 1,000,000 and please continue the rewarding work.

To find a good California construction car accident victim photos
lawyer, you should go online and choose at least three reputable personal injury
law firms in your city in California. You need to
take the case to the court to find a proper
resolution for the loss of income or the trauma due to the
accident. To be sure, not all lawsuits must necessarily go to trial.

We’re a bunch of volunteers and opening a brand new scheme in our community.
Your web site offered us with valuable info to work on. You have done a formidable process and our whole
neighborhood will likely be thankful to you.

Lets begin with stating among the information about this excellent revolutionary weight-reduction plan capsule and metabolism price booster.
It’s conceivable to accomplish this objective the conventional path moreover through an equalized eating methodology and exercise.

The science behind Adiphene consists of 12 of probably the most power fat
preventing ingredients known.

Attractive element of content. I simply stumbled upon your site
and in accession capital to claim that I get in fact enjoyed account your weblog
posts. Anyway I’ll be subscribing in your augment and even I success you get right of entry to consistently rapidly.

Great post. I used to be checking continuously this weblog and I
am inspired! Very helpful info particularly the final part I deal with such information much. I used to be seeking this certain info for a long time.
Thank you and good luck.

However, we always stress that anyone takes a closer look at the general big picture as it applies
to this subject. You can keep extra frosting in the
refrigerator for a couple of days in a covered container.
One of them is that these devices are extremely easy
to use and will have you using them for a wide array of preparations in no time.

You really make it seem really easy with your presentation but I in finding this
matter to be actually one thing which I think I’d by no means understand.
It sort of feels too complicated and very large for me.

I’m taking a look ahead on your next put up, I’ll attempt to get the cling of it!

Humana People to People gets the mission to increase under-developed areas by offering instruction to primary school instructors and tradesmen, helping to advocate health and send knowledge of HIV as well as to help out with even more developing areas
agriculture. Humana People to People runs many diverse developments and tasks within exhausted areas of
nations world wide. By way of working with the regional people along
with governing administration, they’re able to support individuals who’re in need of
help with their non-profit aid institutions.

China is one kind of a number of nations that this non-profit
organization goes to encounter the driving troubles which
they confront at present.
The Humana People to People Movement works with The Federation for Associations in the Yunnan province of China.

The work first commenced in 2005 and keeps around currently.

The Humana People to People Assistance Assignment Department in the Yunnan Area works to grow money so as to execute different activities in the province around poverty-stricken regions.
A few plans that Humana People to People tries to
take to this particular area of China include vocational schools in which they are
able to further their instruction, planning them to get employment, presenting facts about infected sicknesses and
more.
Humana People to People began complying their plans within China during 2007.
One of the first projects that was adopted was the Malaria mission that planned to distribute valuable facts and
treatment to the sickness to region people.

A Group Skill Progression and Child Aid task was afterward started
in Zhenkang. A wonderful 13 jobs were started in 2010 for a few from the largest poverty-stricken regions of the district.

Beyond the Yunnan Province, activities were going in the Sichuan Area,
Chongqing Area and Guangdong Area.
Now, a few plans that Humana has adopted within China contains care in rural locations,
early childhood learning which is designed to bring Chinese children a head
start on the path to victory, establishing safer routes for Humana preschool children, supplying rapid
HIV checking, launching grower organizations and improving cash with charity activities
just like the Comedy Club China Nonprofit Show. Today, there
are 11 developments being executed throughout 3 areas within China also in greater than 128 towns.
With 280 cumulate recipients, People to People
delivers hope and a better future to those poverty-stricken countryside locations.

Howdy can you letting me know which web host you’re working with?
I’ve loaded your blog in 3 different browsers and
I must keep saying this blog loads a lot quicker then most.
Can you recommend a good web hosting provider at a fair price?
Kudos, I appreciate it!

Despite the fact that you could pay a high cost for the diamonds, in this respect the acquisition will be among finest value
rubies. The UN together with countries in the industrialized globe utilized the Kimberley Certification Refine to determine non-conflict rubies.

To achieve in this method, you end up being optimize your
web site for msn. If determine shop online, you should keep
inside your mind a few things. Log on to a good
site and scroll for the various broad range of
bouquets which are displayed. vimax pills made by experienced doctors with many years of experience.

Greate article. Keep writing such kind of information on your blog.
Im really impressed by it.
Hey there, You’ve performed an excellent job. I will definitely digg it and in my opinion suggest to my friends.
I am sure they will be benefited from this website.

Without epic pearls, platinum Boom Beach Hack and astounding means you can’t finish what you may need to offer help.

* Hidden Object: these are screens in which the player must locate pieces of historical objects in order to reassemble them and to place them back where they belong.
This game had attracted 290, 000 players with the game marriage ceremony of
launch.

Moyes could not provide a sustainable, best of the above theory rather seriously, his one nhan dinh bong da
europa league chinh xac 100 good season. Woods will compete in the club’s transfer nhan dinh bong da europa league chinh xac 100 record to
fire Manchester United looks on prior to the Northern Ireland at international level.